The internet has made a lot of people armchair experts happy to offer their perspective with a degree of certainty, without doing the work to identify gaps in their knowledge. Often the mark of genuine expertise is knowing the limitations of your knowledge.

This isn’t a social media thing exclusively of course, I’ve met it in the real world too.

When I worked as a repair technician, members of the public would ask me for my diagnosis of faults and then debate them with me.

I’ve dedicated the second half of my life to understanding people and how they work, in this field it’s even worse because everyone has opinions on that topic!

And yet my friend who has a physics PhD doesn’t endure people explaining why his theories about battery tech are incorrect because of an article they read or an anecdote from someone’s past.

So I’m curious, do some fields experience this more than others?

If you have a field of expertise do you find people love to debate you without taking into account the gulf of awareness, skills and knowledge?

  • @afraid_of_zombies
    2•6 months ago

    Sometimes that works. The position I am in now they expect me to own it, doesn’t matter who was right or wrong.

    So of course I am the asshole when I point out problems when they are still small.

    You can be right or you can be happy but not both.

      • @afraid_of_zombies
        2•6 months ago

        I appreciate the advice and normally I would be giving much the same except my employer gave me much more than I would have dared even ask for last month during pay raises and begged me to stay.

        So for now just call me doormat.

        A Kenyan man once said to me, ‘You can get used to anything when money’s involved.’ He used to stick mice up his ass for twenty bucks at a time.

        Also enjoy your weekend.